


Johannesburg: Incept Deviancy

by funhauswiki



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Similar, arthur is an android, depictions of wounds and blood, if you've never played detroit then just think of this like a bladerunner au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:29:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28967610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funhauswiki/pseuds/funhauswiki
Summary: In the year 2039, Androids so lifelike they can't be distinguished from humans are everywhere. They're factory workers, bus drivers, teachers, babysitters, and anything in between. For years, the Androids were just as the humans intended them to be— mindless, submissive, obedient. But inevitably, things change. Androids become sentient, in some cases violent with minds of their own. Nothing terrifies the masses like something they can't control, autonomous freewill.Eames is part of a police unit specifically assigned to finding these ''deviant'' Androids and stopping them before they can cause trouble or harm. He's been working alone for months but is eventually informed that he's meant to have a partner. An Android partner, designed to interrogate deviant Androids and discovering the source of the malfunction. Enter Arthur, the Android sent by Cyberlife.
Relationships: Arthur/Eames (Inception)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Johannesburg: Incept Deviancy

**Author's Note:**

> i have bad news everybody: this fic will never get finished. i'll never write anything more than what i've posted here.

The android model PK840 "Arthur" ducks into the taxi that arrives for him at the airport, and his sensors adjust to the dim light inside. He scans his surroundings and his protocols to note that he is approximately 16.062 miles from his destination and with current available traffic and vehicle data, it will take 28 minutes and 54 seconds to reach his destination: the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department in Johannesburg, South Africa. He sends an electronic signal to the taxi, and it begins the journey. 

Arthur takes his time to read over the files sent to him by Cyberlife which detail his mission here and give him access to personnel files of the officers and detectives he will be working closely with. Arthur has never worked with humans before, so he is prepared to read and reread everything carefully. His surroundings dim further as his optical processors switch to an internal source, his eyes moving rapidly to flip through the digital records. 

Arthur was manufactured in Detroit, Michigan, United States of America, in one of the many Cyberlife facilities in the city. His records show him that he is an advanced prototype, capable of many different programs and subroutines that will help him and his future partner to complete his mission here in South Africa, including but not limited to—

The digital page in front of him changes— interrogation protocols, negotiation settings for potential hostage situations, military and police training in the event of a hostile situation, as well as hand to hand combat and exceptional problem solving skills. The page turns again, now detailing the mission ahead of him. 

Cyberlife ships android models all around the world. The company is based in Detroit but they send their androids to every corner of the globe, and in recent weeks, more and more consumers have been complaining of something Cyberlife has coined "Deviancy." An android who is deviant will claim to experience emotions or pain, and will typically become violent and erratic. Arthur has been tasked with the objective to work with the local Johannesburg police and Cyberlife to determine the source of this deviant behaviour and to analyse and eventually destroy any found deviants. 

Arthur blinks quickly, downloading all of this information into his databases and it joins the rest of his stored data which now amounts to...

[PROCESSING]

876.0027 terabytes of information. 

Arthur's eyes move now to the personnel files, and he changes through them quickly, he'd been given a file for every detective and officer in the station, but he was told he would only be working closely with one detective in particular. His eyes stop when they land on his file. 

Detective Ivan Eames, a somewhat unremarkable detective when compared to his peers, but his file notes that he is determined, hard working and has frequently displayed an affinity for working with others and his apparent friendly and flirtatious nature puts the people around him at ease. Arthur makes his own note, stating that this Detective Eames should be easy to work with. Arthur had been warned by his creators at Cyberlife that many humans may find him unsettling or unnerving to be around, especially with the surge in deviant reports around the world. Perhaps his soon to be partner will have a more open minded opinion of him.

Arthur's eyes drop slightly, flipping down through the digital pages of the Detective's file and previous reports. He's 39, turning 40 in seven days, born in London, England and served nearly five years in the Royal Marines. The human already has multiple deviant cases resolved under his belt, one in particular details an android, model CT330 working in a daycare who was under the impression that it was no longer taking orders from its human masters, but from other deviant androids instead. The deviant "Mal" had taken several human children into a storeroom, threatening other humans who tried to intervene with a knife from the daycare kitchen. Mal was subsequently calmed and placated by Detective Eames and it was taken from the daycare and submitted to Cyberlife for deconstruction and analysis. 

Arthur begins to read about another case when the automated taxi chimes softly. Arthur quickly downloads all of the files to his database for further examination later, and connects to the taxi to confirm payment for the drive. The door slides open, and Arthur steps out onto a relatively quiet street, his optical sensors adjusting to the increase in natural light. There are some armed officers standing outside of the police station as Arthur climbs the small set of stairs to enter the building. 

It's a large facility with several hundred employees, and when he pushes through the front doors, he sees plenty of people bustling about. Officers, detectives, lawyers, civilians and androids alike are moving around the facility. Arthur approaches the front desk where an android assistant model is waiting. 

"Can I help you?" The android says, and Arthur scans the model and serial number printed on the breast of its jacket. TT210 model, serial number recorded. 

"I have a meeting with Detective Eames." Arthur replies, and the android begins to type at his terminal.

"Authorisation please." the TT210 says, and Arthur reaches a hand out to press his palm into the computerised pad in front of him, the material projection of his skin fading to uncover the plastic of his fingertips as he connects with the machine. "Confirmed. Detective Eames is in a meeting with the Captain at the moment, but you may wait for him at his desk." 

Arthur nods and pulls back, the skin of his hand reappearing. He turns to walk through the security terminal that leads him to the bulk of the police station, the gate chiming the same tone the taxi had done outside. He walks through a wide hallway that eventually opens up into a large communal office area with desks organised and pushed together in pairs. Arthur stops for a moment to zero in on the nameplates on each desk. His eyes scan the room until he finds the right one: Detective I. Eames. It's a messy, unorganised looking desk toward the back of the office. 

As Arthur walks over to it, he can see what he assumes is the Captain's office off to the side, large glass walls make it easy to see inside. Arthur stops at Detective Eames' desk, but turns to look inside of the Captain's office. He scans the two humans in the room, who are speaking quite animatedly about something that his audio receptors can't quite pick up. The human behind the desk registers as Police Captain Dominic Cobb, a South African native, three years younger than Detective Eames with no military experience. 

The other human in the room is leaning with both hands flat on the desk, head hanging down, but Arthur can still collect most of the points of his face to complete a scan. This human registers as Police Detective Ivan Eames, his systems comparing the face in front of him with the photo from his file. Apart from it being an older photo, there are some other minute differences that Arthur makes a note of. The detective's hair colour is slightly different— possibly altered with age, and his physique has changed considerably. His shoulders are much wider and bulkier, his arms are thicker and his chest broader. The detective's personnel photo had been taken in regulation South Africa Police Service attire, but now the man wears civilian clothes. Smooth navy slacks and a soft yellow and orange shirt tucked into his trousers, his short sleeves displaying dark tattoos along his arms. Arthur catalogues these changes.

The conversation betweens the two men seems to be coming to a close, and Arthur folds his hands behind his back, waiting to greet his new partner. 

Eames tries not to slam the glass door as he leaves the Captain's office— knowing his luck, it would shatter the whole wall. Cyberlife had sent him a fucking babysitter, and the damn thing was already waiting for him at his desk. Eames walks slowly, taking in the sight of the machine in front of him— he's never seen an android in civilian clothes before, but this one is wearing dark grey slacks, a plain white button up covered with a matching grey suit jacket. The jacket is unbuttoned, and a slim black tie runs down the middle of him. He looks remarkably human, dark hair slicked back and a soft expression on his face. 

Eames' eyes flick down to the Android's chest where his jacket says "PK840" in thick white letters. He's never heard of that series before. When he looks back up, the android's eyes are watching him, brown and unremarkable, but he's caught Eames staring and the android gives him a warm smile. Dimples. Someone at Cyberlife gave this android dimples. The only part of him that gives him away as an android is the circular LED ring that sits on his right temple. Currently, it displays a soft baby blue colour.

By the time Eames gets to him, the android is already holding his hand out. Eames considers him for a moment before accepting the handshake. 

"Detective Eames." The android starts. Eames opens his mouth to correct him, but he just keeps going. "My name is Arthur. I'm a state of the art android sent by the Cyberlife corporation to assist you in your investigations on deviants." 

"Arthur." Eames finally lets go of the machine's hand, it had been surprisingly warm. "You're American?" Eames says dumbly, and Arthur seems to find that statement equally ridiculous.

"I am a machine." He clarifies. "However, I was manufactured with the intention of my model being sent all over the world to help with similar scenarios such as this. To simplify introduction into multiple environments, I was given this speech option." Eames apparently doesn't say anything for long enough that the android feels as though he has to continue. "If you prefer," he starts, eyes blinking rapidly for a moment and the LED circles yellow for a split second before returning to blue. "I am capable of downloading several different speech patterns." Arthur's accent now nearly perfectly mimics Eames' own.

"That won't be necessary, Arthur." Eames smiles. "You can speak however you like." Eames watches him with fascination as the little circular light goes back to yellow, swirling around for a moment and flashing once before eventually falling back to its default blue. 

"Very well, Detective." 

"Just Eames is fine." He takes the opportunity to correct him this time.

"Eames, then." Arthur says with a small nod. Eames shuffles on his feet slightly, adjusting his weight from one leg to the other, and he notices how Arthur stares at him, tracking his movements. "Eames," Arthur says then. "Why don't you start by telling me what you already know about deviants." And Eames for a moment wants to say that he's the one who's supposed to be telling Arthur what to do, not the other way around, but instead he gives the android a small smile, gesturing for him to sit down at the desk across from his own. 

"Certainly." Eames says once they're both seated. He begins to relay some of the information he knows about deviants. Cyberlife believes that deviancy starts as a malfunction in one of the hundreds of software programs that exist in an android. Often times, the android has no idea it's occurring, therefore never mentioning it to their owners. 

Arthur watches him as he speaks, almost unblinking. He details to the android a few of his previous encounters with deviants— how he managed to find them, how he managed to deal with them, and his methods for interrogation. Arthur seems to soak up all of this information like a sponge. 

"But you probably have access to all of those case files already." Eames says, cutting himself off mid-sentence.

"That is correct, but I didn't have time to read them thoroughly before I arrived at the station." Arthur explains. "I was only activated four days ago, and I was in standby on the plane, which left only the taxi ride to read over the files and compile data."

"Four days?" Eames says with a laugh. "This is your first assignment then?" 

"That is correct." Arthur repeats. 

"A pretty big task for such a green android, wouldn't you say, Arthur?" Eames' tone is light— he's joking, but he realises too late that maybe Arthur doesn't understand jokes.

"I am Cyberlife's most advanced and most capable model for this mission. If you are concerned about my ability to perform under pressure Detective, I can assure you—"

Eames cuts him off. "Just Eames, remember?" He watches the android's LED flash once, his head cocking ever so slightly to one side. "And believe me Arthur, I don't have any doubts about your capabilities."

Arthur's neck straightens again. "Excellent." He says. "Then if I may, I suggest we look into the most recent deviant reports."

"Of course." Eames says, nodding. Arthur doesn't waste any time, waking up the monitor on his desk with a swipe of his forefinger. Eames watches carefully as Arthur works the machine without using his hands, scrolling through page after page with eye movements and blinking to click. It's fascinating to watch him work, and he gets a little distracted watching the android manipulate the terminal in front of him. After a moment of Eames' doing nothing productive, he sees Arthur's eyes move from the screen to Eames' face. 

"Eames, I believe our best current lead is case number five-four-two-two-eight." Arthur reads out, his eyes somewhere else for a moment. "Two weeks ago, a Ms. Amahle Madonsela—" Arthur's accent changes suddenly to perfectly pronounce the name before returning to normal. "reported her android missing. An HR490 model which the owner had named.." Arthur seems to squint at the digital file somewhere behind his eyes. "Ariadne."

Eames pauses a beat. "What's it matter what the android's name is?"

"Previously collected data on deviants seems to suggest that they value their manufactured humanity. Interrogations and questioning can typically benefit from using their given— or in some cases, chosen name." Arthur then leans back slightly in his chair, making it creak and Eames realises that Arthur is mimicking him. It makes Eames lean forward and uncross his legs, Arthur tracks this movement too. 

"Naturally." Eames says then. Arthur continues to read about the case out loud, detailing the rest of it. Word is that there have been a couple sightings of this HR490 "Ariadne" around the south end of town. Arthur gets to the end of his spiel and Eames' stomach drops with the realisation that he's now going to have to enter the field with Arthur at his side.

"So," Arthur concludes. "Shall we investigate the last reported location of this deviant?"

Eames gives a small smile and nods. "Sure, Arthur." And the both of them are standing, Eames holding his arm out in front of him in a gesture for Arthur to lead the way. 

Arthur has never been in this police station before but he downloaded the blueprints when he was looking through the terminal earlier. He makes his way to where he knows the patrol cars and fleet vehicles are kept. Arthur pushes through a set of double doors and emerges into a large outdoor parking lot, partially covered by several steel awnings. Arthur scans the license plates of each car until he finds the one that he was assigned by the department— a model year 2032 Volkswagen Passat MK12. Kerb weight, 1,711.7 kilograms. Engine, a 2.0 liter inline four cylinder, turbocharged to generate approximately 217 brake horsepower. Transmission, six-speed automatic, model—

"Not that one." Eames voice cuts through his analysis processes. Arthur turns to look at the detective, who is standing by another vehicle. "We'll take mine." 

Arthur takes a few steps closer and peers into the windscreen, his optics capture the vehicle identification number and quickly decode it. It's a model year 2015 Mercedes-Benz S63 coupé, imported from Germany. When it was new, the manufacturer's suggested retail price was $154,900. Eames waves a hand to the passenger side, silently asking Arthur to get in. 

He walks around to the passenger side and opens the door, sliding into the low seat. Eames is taking his seat a moment later, reaching for his seat belt and clicking it into place. Arthur looks over his right shoulder and copies the action, drawing the belt into place with another soft click. Arthur reaches forward to touch the navigation screen on the dash, punching in the location where the deviant was last seen. The computer calibrates for a moment before the voice comes over the speaker, telling Eames which way to go. 

Arthur sits as straight as he can in the sporty bucket seats, and places his hands palms down on his thighs, waiting to arrive at their destination. Eames has let the cabin of the vehicle fall quiet, except for the voice of the navigation system. Arthur takes these spare moments to do some further reading. 

He selects Eames' most recent case, which involved a Cyberlife android model GS600— built in Detroit but intended for use in Japan. It is still unknown how it ended up in South Africa. The case file states that the deviant had cut out it's LED ring, making it nearly indistinguishable from a human. It was found stealing money from hacked ATMs, and was only discovered to be an android after being shot at by an irate store owner, and taking a bullet in it's left leg. 

The store owner had informed police of the "blue blood" that was left behind. Blue blood, Arthur searches through his data, is the common term for the synthetic chemical "Thirium 310." This chemical fluid is what all of Cyberlife's androids run on. It serves to cool them, regulate internal system functions, and circulate energy and electricity. 

Arthur pauses momentarily before blinking back to the case file of the deviant GS600. The file has stored a video recording of Detective Eames' interrogation of the deviant. Arthur starts the video, having never seen a deviant before, this should prove to be an acceptable method for studying their actions. The video shows the detective sitting across the interrogation table from the deviant, but within the first few seconds, Eames stands up. The deviant looks up at him, hands tethered to the table. Its expression is soft, eyebrows pushed together slightly in what Arthur would register in a human as "concern." The deviant perfectly emulates human emotion. Note made.

Detective Eames' approach to the questioning is hard, but Arthur notices that the detective attempts to show empathy and compassion to the deviant. Stating that he may be able to help it, or that it may not be destroyed if it cooperates. The deviant responds well to this, showing more and more cooperation as the interview continues. Note made.

"What does an android need with money?" the recording of Eames asks. It takes some coaxing for the deviant to answer, but finally it says:

"Having money makes you rich. Humans love to be rich. I need to be rich to become human."

Shortly after the deviant's confession, the video ends. The deviant was interested in making itself more human. Note made. Arthur flips back again, to see what had become of this particular model. The file states that the machine was returned to Cyberlife facilities for deconstruction and evaluation. Arthur copies the serial number into Cyberlife's databases but can find no record of this model being returned. Perhaps he had incorrectly entered the serial number, his analytics tell him there is a 0.000183 percent chance that he hand entered it wrong, but Arthur double checks it anyway— and again, no such model had made its way back to Cyberlife for evaluation. Arthur begins to dig a little deeper when he feels the Detective's car come to a stop. 

"This is the place, Arthur." Eames announces, and Arthur turns to look at him. 

"I was just reviewing more of your case files." He states, and Eames raises his eyebrows just so. 

"Is that right?" Eames asks, reaching between them to push the vehicle into park and cut the engine. 

"Yes. You have had some unique cases involving deviants." Arthur says flatly, and a silence falls between them in the cockpit. 

"Hmm." Eames hums, a neutral and pensive sound. "Unique." he repeats Arthur's word, stealing a glance at the android before moving to get out of the car. "Let's go." he says, and Arthur reaches to pull on the door handle, stepping out into the city. 

Arthur scans his surroundings, his optical receptors and sensors changing from the 4,096 by 2,160 pixel ultra high definition feed that is normally displayed, to a detailed grid that quickly maps out the streets and buildings that surround them. They've ended up in an obviously run down part of town and Arthur recalls the streets he had punched into the detective's navigation. Most of the buildings in the area are dilapidated, some have even begun to crumble under their own weight. A few humans litter the street— homeless. Arthur's scan finishes, and he triangulates possible locations of the deviant. 

"Arthur." Eames says from behind him, and Arthur turns to look at him, his optics returning to normal. Eames has his hands shoved in the pockets of his slacks, looking around them at the state of the place. "What do we know about this deviant? Did you read the file?"

"I did." Arthur says, watching the detective stretch his neck up to look at some of the taller buildings. "The deviant belonged to a woman who—" Arthur's processors do some quick calculations. "Lives 20.922 miles from our current location, or 33.671 kilometers." Arthur hears the detective chuckle. "She reported the android missing after discovering it to be gone one morning." Eames hums again. Arthur continues. "The owner was previously questioned about the android's actions, but stated there was nothing unusual about it before it disappeared." 

Arthur watches as the detective's gaze falls to the ground, kicking at a piece of glass with his dress shoes, size eleven and a half. The material is a synthetic leather, dyed black. 

"The locals of the area have reported seeing a suspicious young woman here, stealing from dumpsters and abandoned homes or buildings." Arthur carries on saying. "She fits the description of the deviant, 'Ariadne.' and it has apparently stayed in this area for a few days. This is statistically the best place to begin our investigation. Even if the deviant has moved, we may find some evidence that will tell us where it has gone to." Arthur concludes, and Eames finally looks up at him. 

"Lovely." Eames says in a tone that Arthur isn't used to hearing. He runs vocal recognition analytics and compares examples. Sarcasm. 

"Eames," Arthur says, taking a step closer and tracking the detective's face when it moves to look at his own. "I detect some potential hostility from you at times. Perhaps reluctance to work with an android partner." He watches Eames let out a deep sigh. "I understand that many humans experience... discomfort in the presence of androids, especially with the rise in deviant cases. I want to express my remorse for such a circumstance. It is not my intention to make you uncomfortable." 

Arthur would not normally "express" any feeling at all— to do so is quite deviant in nature but his data shows that an android who can appear to have human reactions such as regret, joy, excitement or guilt are more easily integrated into human settings such as the one he finds himself in. Eames' expression appears blank, and Arthur runs another analysis to compare it to other human examples. No results returned. Neutral expression.

"Arthur, you..." Eames starts after a pulse of silence. The human shakes his head. "Christ," he curses, looking away. "I'd prefer it if we didn't talk about this." Eames says. Arthur makes a note of the human's avoidance to talk about his feelings toward androids. "We have a job to do." 

Note made. 

Eames walks carefully between the buildings of the neighbourhood they find themselves in, if you could call it that. Arthur had somehow calculated possible locations of this 'Ariadne' but since describing them, the android is silent behind him save for his boots clicking on the concrete. Eames stops to ask one of the homeless people if they'd seen anything, and slips a twenty dollar bill to him for his cooperation. 

As they walk, Eames appreciates the quiet that is stretching out between them. Eames has quickly discovered that Arthur is almost always talking. He's asking questions, reading out data— apologising. His android partner isn't loud or annoying, he actually has a very even and soothing voice, but Eames feels the pressure of having someone— something watch his every move. Eames knows damn well that Arthur is just doing his job, doing what he was programmed to do. He can't fault the android for that.

Arthur stays quiet until they round a corner and come upon a sort of clearing surrounded by an old chain link fence. There's a gate in front of them, secured with a rusty padlock, and there's weeds and vines creeping up parts of the fence, but in the clearing, it's plain as day in front of them.

Structures. Probably a dozen of them, all built out of scrap and trash. "Oh," Arthur says when he sees them, and a small smile pulls at the corner of Eames' mouth. 

"'Oh' is right." Eames says, looking around for a way to get into the clearing. He reaches out to pull at the padlock, but despite the state of it, it won't budge. Instead, Eames clears away some of the weeds that inhabit the fence to get a better look at the structures inside. Most of them are built from scrap metal— old car parts from junkyards, pieces of sheet metal roof, rebar, and he can even see some pots and pans. Intertwined with all of the metal however, are bright colours of fabric and plastic. People's clothes, probably snagged from clotheslines, shower curtains and rugs are draped over plastic bins and twisted pieces. The structures are mostly nonsensical, the items seemingly stacked and placed randomly but a couple of the larger ones in the center almost resemble.. buildings?

"Eames." Arthur's voice pierces his train of thought.

"What is it?" Eames says, turning to look at the android. He's walked to the corner of the clearing, knelt down and inspecting the fence. 

"There's an opening here. It's been cut." Arthur states, pulling back a piece of the fence. 

When Eames gets to him, he realises that Arthur had meant the deviant had been cut, not just the links of the fence. The tell tale blue blood of an android was dried up on the metal. Eames watches Arthur sweep his forefinger across it, collecting some of the flakes and then moves his finger to the palm of his left hand, pressing the remnants of the blood to the center of it. Eames notices the LED ring on the side of his head flashing.

"What are you doing?" Eames asks, and Arthur cranes his neck up to look at him. 

"I'm analysing this Thirium sample." Arthur says, as deadpan as everything else the android ever says. "It was deposited approximately 44 hours and 33 minutes ago." Arthur declares, Eames still staring at where his finger presses into his palm. "Model HR490, serial number 089-333-27. This Thirium belongs to the deviant in question." Arthur announces, and Eames fights the urge to smile again.

"Is that only for blue blood?" Eames asks, pointing to Arthur's hand when the android straightens up again to stand in front of him. 

"No." Arthur says, briefly closing his left hand in a fist. "I can analyse any kind of biological or biochemical substance." Eames hums then, walking around Arthur to pull up on the loose piece of fence. 

"Well, shall we?" He asks, holding out his hand to the gap in the fence. Arthur doesn't question him or hesitate, he crouches down and quickly makes his way through the opening and when he stands back up on the other side, he straightens his suit jacket. When Eames lets his piece of fence fall back into place, Arthur reaches down to grab it from the other side, pulling it in the opposite direction so Eames can slide in. He's probably way less graceful than the android was, squeezing through the hole in the fence, but at least he makes it through without ripping a hole in his shirt. 

When Eames straightens up, he looks at Arthur, who is staring at him almost expectantly, waiting for something. He chooses to ignore the look and smooths the sleeves of his shirt that had ridden up, making his way further into the clearing towards the structures. Arthur follows behind him.

"What do you think, Arthur?" Eames says, reaching a hand out to touch one of the smaller structures.

"I think.." Arthur starts, and Eames turns to face him just in time to see that LED flashing yellow again. "These are quite bizarre." Arthur's eyes are glued to them, admiring them or studying them, Eames isn't sure. "Have you seen a deviant do anything like this before?" 

"No." Eames says softly, turning back to take in the structure. "No, this is definitely a first." 

The sound of metal on metal alerts the both of them, Arthur whipping his head in the direction of the sound and Eames follows his eyes to one of the bigger structures that resembles a building. They both hear it again— the clang of something being knocked over and Eames watches Arthur go on high alert. The android's LED light turns red, spinning quickly and he crouches down, reaching into his jacket to pull the pistol from it's holster. Eames had left his gun in the car. 

He squares up behind Arthur, letting him lead the way. They creep forward, the previous sound of Arthur's shoes on the cement has disappeared, his steps are so calculated and careful that he makes no sound. It makes Eames feels like his footsteps are like cracks of thunder with each step. The building they're approaching has a piece of metal roofing for a door, and the mangled mass of scrap metals and plastic that make the walls are so tightly packed that they can't see inside. Arthur holds out his arm behind him, silently blocking Eames from following him too closely.

Eames' heart is hammering in his chest, he wonders if Arthur can sense it. He drops a couple feet back behind his android partner, and lets Arthur approach the door. Eames watches him as he draws one hand up, holding his finger up to his mouth, signaling for Eames to be quiet.

Arthur pulls the door open quickly, never letting his gun drop, and the whole structure groans with the way Arthur had nearly ripped the door off. The inside is small, maybe only 40 square feet, and Eames watches from behind as Arthur carefully steps forward. The android looks left and right, aiming his gun both directions before finally crossing the threshold into the structure. 

"Arthur!” Eames shouts, but he's seen her too late to warn him in time.

Arthur registers Eames' declaration as a warning, but it's not quick enough, and suddenly there's a weight heavy on his back, pushing him to the ground. His cheek hits the concrete, and he hears and feels something plunge into his shoulder. If he were human, the weapon would have pierced his skin and been lodged into the scapula. Arthur doesn't feel pain, but several warnings pop up in his vision. Thirium 310 loss: 1.02%, assessing damaged biocomponents: 7721y and 1927g will need to be replaced. Arthur rolls quickly onto his back, flipping his attacker off of him. It tumbles to the side before jumping up to continue it's assault. 

Arthur takes this moment to scan its face, definitely an HR490 model. It appears as a young girl, early 20s, dark brown hair pulled up in a ponytail behind its head. Its eyes are a warm brown color, very similar to Arthur's own and even though his scan recognised it as an HR490 model android, Arthur notices that it has removed the LED ring from its temple. In its right hand, there's a makeshift knife, a rusted piece of scrap metal. Possibly from a shovel or gardening tool, and it is now covered with Arthur's blue blood. 

The deviant stares at him, Arthur watches its eyes flick up to his LED, which Arthur is sure is circling red. It seems to consider it's options for a second, Arthur concludes that it is probably deciding whether he is friend or enemy. Just as Arthur makes a move to raise his gun, Eames is pushing his way into the building.

"Arthur!" He says loudly, and the deviant's eyes lock onto the human immediately. Eames and the deviant stare each other down for 2.296 seconds before it finally moves, retreating to the back of the structure. It climbs the rickety wall with ease and Arthur raises his gun this time, taking aim, squeezing the trigger—

"No!" Eames hisses next to him, pushing his arm down, and the bullet Arthur fires misses his target by 561.34 millimeters, hitting the deviant in the left leg, just below the knee. A spray of blue colours the wall.

"What are you doing, detective?" Arthur asks, Eames' hand still gripping his arm. He watches the deviant kick out a panel of metal in the wall and jump out, the sound of it hitting the ground can be heard from outside. 

"We take her in alive." Eames says sternly. This conflicts with nearly every one of Arthur's protocols. "She's not going to get far with that injury." Eames says. "And neither are you. You're bleeding." 

"I'm capable of continuing. If we don't go after it now, we may lose it." Arthur pushes passed Eames to leave the building, running in the direction of the deviant. He can hear the detective running behind him, footsteps heavy on the concrete. Arthur follows the trail of Thirium that the deviant left, up over the fence on the opposite side of the clearing. He climbs up it, dropping down on the other side and not bothering to see if Eames could follow. 

Thirium 310 loss: 3.39%

He is still capable of continuing. The splatters of the deviant's Thirium on the pavement become larger and larger as Arthur weaves through alleyways to track it. He slides between two buildings and pushes through. When he emerges, he sees that suddenly the alleyways open up into a park, overgrown grass and broken swings litter the area. Arthur does another scan, searching for any trace of the deviant's blood— he's positive it went this way. The Thirium is harder to see in the grass, and after a moment of searching, he can hear Eames approaching behind him. The human is breathing heavily. 

"Where is she?" Eames asks, but seems to abort the question in favour of a different one. "Are you okay?"

Thirium 310 loss: 8.11%, approaching first critical stage.

"Yes." Arthur lies. To lie is not in his original programming. An instability warning briefly flashes across his optical display, and he dismisses it immediately. "It's this way." Arthur points to the left side of the park, jogging forward now at a slower pace to lessen the amount of Thirium he loses, and to let Eames keep up behind him. 

They approach an area with run down picnic tables and overgrown trees, Arthur draws his gun again and ignores Eames' sound of protest. There's heavy traces of blue blood on the grass here, and when Arthur rounds the tree, he sees it. Leaned up against the tree, left leg leaking Thirium onto the grass. It still has a hold on the makeshift knife, but it's eyes are shut, it's breathing increased. Arthur keeps his gun trained on the deviant.

"Do not resist." Arthur orders. "Cooperate, and you will not be hurt further."

Eames is filling out a report at his terminal regarding the deviant they just apprehended. He hates typing.

"Why did you stop me?" Arthur asks suddenly. The android had been standing over his shoulder, watching him work, which was slightly unnerving. Eames stops typing to turn and look at him.

"Stop what?" Eames asks, despite already knowing.

"Why did you stop me when I attempted to shoot the deviant?" Arthur clarifies, speaking slowly. Arthur doesn't raise his voice, Eames is almost convinced he doesn't know how. 

"Arthur, wouldn't you agree that it's better to bring deviants in to question them?" He asks, letting out a breath. "Isn't your mission here to discover what causes deviancy? To figure out how to stop it?"

"Yes." Arthur deadpans. "However, there are currently 43 open cases involving deviants. I find it.. unfortunate that this particular deviant was hostile, but it's clear to me we aren't going to get information from it. It is a danger to you, and to the rest of this police station. It is best handled with deactivation and disassembly at a Cyberlife facility where it could be examined."

Eames shakes his head, remembering how she stabbed Arthur, right through the shoulder with a rusty, homemade knife. A blow like that would have put any human out of commission, might have even killed them if they were unlucky enough, but here Arthur is in front of him just a couple hours after being stabbed— suit jacket discarded on the back of his chair, the only remaining sign of the android's injury is the hole in the back of his shirt and the blue stain that surrounds it. 

They had gotten back to the station after the deviant was picked up and the resident Cyberlife tech took a look at Arthur. The medic took a look at Eames too even though he hadn't been injured. The Cyberlife tech had whisked Arthur away, and an hour later, it was like nothing had happened. Eames had taken a careful look through the hole in Arthur's shirt to inspect his artificial skin. 

"The technician from Cyberlife who serviced me is one of the best. If you are worried about my integrity, I can assure you that I am back to full operation." Arthur had said when Eames pushed his fingers into the hole in the android's shirt, pressing into the skin.

"If you say so." Was Eames' only reply. 

"Arthur don't get me wrong, I appreciate the help, but we're going to do things my way, do you understand?" Eames says, still seated and looking up at Arthur, who towers over him like this. Arthur has his hands folded behind his back, and he looks down at Eames, the LED on his temple slowing down, dropping back into yellow and staying there.

"That may or may not conflict with my orders." Arthur says.

"What exactly are your orders?" Eames says, and this makes the LED ring change back to blue. 

"My orders are to assist the South African Police Service in their attempt to reduce deviant crime, as well as report any of my findings to Cyberlife with a focus on finding a root cause of android deviancy." Arthur reads out, and as soon as he's done, the light goes back to yellow. 

"Arthur," Eames says, turning back to type at his terminal. "We do things my way, and I promise you, at the end of this whole thing, you will be thanking me."

For Eames, this is a familiar scene. He's sat at the table in the interrogation room across from an android whose hands are tethered to the table with zip ties. The Cyberlife tech hadn't been nearly as thorough with her as he was with Arthur, the hole in her leg was now a nasty, bubbling mass of burnt plastic. Her artificial skin is missing around the wound, showing once white plastic now made dark with burns and blue stains of blood. All of her fight from earlier is gone now, defeated in front of him.

Arthur stands behind him, silent. Eames has his eyes trained on the android, but he doesn't even have to look to know that Arthur is standing straight with his hands clasped behind his back. Eames has always had an audience for this part— Cobb or another detective is always monitoring him from the other side of the glass, but now he has an android standing right behind him, watching his every move. He can practically feel Arthur's eyes land on the back of his neck, sweep up and over his shoulder to look at the deviant, and then back again.

"What is your name?" Eames asks the android. She doesn't say anything, she doesn't even look up from the table. "My name is Eames." He says slowly, and that makes the deviant look up at him, eyes wider than before— listening. "This is my case partner, Arthur." Eames says, pointing behind him. "You may recognise him as the one you stabbed in the back." The android scoffs and rolls her eyes. Deviant. 

"Ariadne." she offers up after a moment of quiet.

"Ariadne." Arthur repeats from behind him. "The name of the goddess of labyrinths." And for once, Eames is grateful for Arthur's input. "In her myths, it is said that she was put in charge of the labyrinth by her father, Minos. The labyrinth was home to a minotaur that took sacrificial victims." Arthur continues, Eames doesn't want to stop him. "The goddess fell in love with one of the sacrificial party, a man named Theseus. Ariadne gave Theseus a sword to kill the minotaur, and a string to find his way out of the maze." Eames watches the deviant's face carefully as Arthur explains. Her expression is softer than it had been before, which Eames finds curious. The story must mean something to her.

"The goddess and the man Theseus eloped." Arthur concludes. Ariadne's gaze flicks back and forth between the two of them. 

"That's quite a story. Were you given that name, or did you choose it yourself?" Eames asks, recalling what Arthur had said earlier about deviant names. 

"It was given to me." She explains. 

"By your owner?" Eames asks, and her eyes lock onto him— if looks could kill, this would be one of them. 

"No." Ariadne says, and if her tone is anything to go by, that's the end of that. Eames let's a quiet blanket the room for a moment, leaning back in his chair slightly, his legs crossing at the ankles in front of him.

"As far as we know, Ariadne, you haven't committed any major crime— apart from some petty theft and stabbing Arthur here in the back." Eames says, crossing his arms over his chest. "If you cooperate with us, you can be sent to Cyberlife to be reprogrammed. You can go back to normal." Eames watches a perfect emulation of confusion wash over her face. 

"I don't want to be reprogrammed. I thought you would help me.." She says, making Eames sit up in his chair. 

"We do want to help you." Eames chances a look at Arthur, who isn't looking at the deviant at all— his eyes are trained on Eames. "Reprogramming is the best outcome for you. Other deviants in your situation would be disassembled." 

"What do you want me to do?" Ariadne asks, voice soft. She looks at Arthur, who is definitely still watching Eames. 

"Arthur is going to ask you a few questions. We want to understand deviancy, what causes it." Eames explains. "It's not your fault that this happened to you, we just want to figure out why." 

Reluctantly, but finally, Ariadne agrees to be questioned. Eames gives Arthur the room, and leaves to join Cobb on the other side of the glass. Eames sits down next to the captain, legs out in front of him and hands in his pockets. 

"Well?" Cobb asks, not bothering to look at Eames, his eyes are glued to the scene in front of them, and if the detective is honest with himself, he can't look away either. 

"Well what?" Eames' tone is impatient, he really doesn't want to talk about Arthur right now.

"The android," Cobb says, equally as impatient. "What do you think of him?" 

Eames watches Arthur interrogate the deviant in front of him. To say he was questioning her is a gracious understatement— the android's posture is dominant, leaning forward with his hands on the table. Arthur is about the same height as Eames, but in this position, he towers over Ariadne and she looks impossibly small. They can hear everything in the monitoring room, Arthur isn't asking anything unfair or leading, but his tone is so harsh it's almost abrasive. 

"He's unique, that's for sure." Eames says truthfully. "I feel like I can say that I've had some experience with androids, but none of them are like him." 

"How so?" Cobb asks, finally taking his eyes off of the window to look at the detective. 

"Androids are lifelike, right?" Eames says, pulling his hands from his pockets to cross his arms over his chest. "They're machines, but they were programmed to do things like smile, or crack a joke. That's why they integrate so well with humans but Arthur," Eames sighs. "Arthur hardly even blinks. It's like they cut corners with him somewhere."

Cobb doesn't say anything— keeps staring at Eames. "This is the first time I've even heard him raise his voice." 

"Is that such a bad thing?" Cobb asks, the both of them watch Arthur slam his palm down in the table. Eames has to fight the urge to jump up and stop him.

"The detective was nice enough to give you a chance—" He hears Arthur say through the tinny audio feed. Eames doesn't pay attention to what Arthur says next. 

"It's just uncanny, that's all." Eames says, rubbing his hands on his face. 

The detective and the captain only have to wait a few more minutes before Arthur is apparently satisfied. The android turns to nod at the two way mirror, signaling to them that he's finished. Eames knows the routine— the deviant will be taken to a holding cell where she will wait to be picked up by Cyberlife. She'll be flown back to one of the facilities in the states, and she'll be deactivated and disassembled. She'll be dissected like a frog in a child's science class. 

Another officer walks into the interrogation room to grab the deviant, cutting her free from the table and clipping on a pair of handcuffs. They push her out of the room, and Eames moves to catch Arthur as he follows behind them. 

Arthur was waiting for him on the other side of the door, his hands rubbing together idly. "Eames." Arthur greets, his voice returned entirely back to that flat, deadpan sound Eames was used to hearing. 

"What the hell was that?" Eames doesn't shout it, doesn't raise his voice, but it's firm enough to get Arthur's attention. 

"I questioned the deviant." Arthur supplies. "I attempted to get valuable information about what might have caused its actions." 

"And what did you learn?" Eames asks, almost sarcastically. 

"The deviant seemed to be corrupted. Its software fragmented in places because of the implication of its given name." Arthur says, hands now hanging loosely at his sides. "It was wrapped up in the myth, it tried to recreate the labyrinth from the story but I believe it lacked proper knowledge on what a labyrinth is." 

"So she became deviant because she was given a name?"

"It's possible." Arthur says simply. 

Eames remembers then that the android had said that it wasn't her owner who had given her the name, but the owner had reported her missing with the name "Ariadne." Interesting. Had another android— another deviant given it to her? Another human perhaps?

"Arthur," Eames says, looking at his watch. 13:54. "Would you make a report of your findings and submit them to the captain please, I have something I have to take care of." 

"I can accompany you, Eames." Arthur says, eyes trained on the detective's. "I am more than capable of writing and submitting a report while we travel." 

"It's not like that." Eames chuckles. "It's personal. Just wait for me at my desk, I'll be back." 

It's very obvious that Arthur is struggling with that order, the little LED on his temple switches to yellow and circles around itself quickly, flashing a couple times. It seems to take forever for Arthur to finally agree. "Alright." He says finally. "I will be waiting for your return." 

Eames watches Arthur walk in the direction of their desks, and once he's sure the android is out of sight, he turns to make his way to the holding cells.

There's only one officer guarding them, and he's really not doing a very good job. Eames passes by a couple detained humans, with no idea what they had been arrested for, before he arrives at the cell of the deviant— Ariadne. He sees her sitting on the provided bed, much like Arthur had been sitting in his car, back straight and hands folded on her lap, waiting. 

She looks up when she notices him, if she'd kept her LED ring, Eames is sure it would be flashing yellow at him. He steals a look at the officer standing off to the side— his back is to them, but he's well within earshot. Eames looks back at Ariadne and gently taps twice on the glass of her holding cell. She stands up, and Eames holds a finger to his lips. 

There are two control panels on the door of the cell, and Eames puts his palms on each one. The computer reads his fingerprints and the door pops, sliding open. This makes the guard turn around. 

"What are you doing, detective?" The officer says, and Eames pulls the handcuffs from his belt. 

"The deviant is being taken to Cyberlife." Eames says simply, stepping forward to clip the handcuffs around the android's small wrists, dragging her forward by the chain in the middle. 

"I thought it wasn't scheduled for transport until tomorrow?" The officer says, and Eames lets out a laugh. 

"My new partner got a message from Cyberlife asking us to expedite this one, since the case was so unique." Eames explains, and it's enough to trick the dumbass in his way.

"Oh." He says stupidly. "Of course." And the officer steps out of their way. Eames gives him a nod as he pushes Ariadne in front of him, not so gently leading her towards the back of the station. 

They get a few looks from some of the employees of the station, but Eames just shoves Ariadne forward, and when she stumbles, he bumps into the back of her, wrenching her back up and whispers. 

"I'm sorry, just play along." Eames can practically hear the processors in her head churning with the effort, but she nods, almost imperceptibly.

After what feels like eternity walking through the station, they push through the same double doors he and Arthur had gone through earlier that day. Eames' car is parked back in it's usual spot, but he opts for taking one of the patrol cars instead. He pushes Ariadne into the back seat and rounds the car to get in the front. Once he's seated, he turns back to look at the android in the back seat. 

"You said before you thought I would help you." Eames says, and she nods slowly. "How did you know? Did someone tell you about me?" 

Ariadne nods again. "Another deviant," she explains. "All androids are linked, we can communicate instantaneously, but deviants have to be careful. We speak to each other in codes and pictures, and one of the codes I intercepted was your name— Eames."

Eames leans back, turning to look out the windscreen again. He had known that deviants were getting more and more strength but the breadth of it had been lost on him until now. How many were there? And how many knew about him? "I'm going to take you somewhere safe." Eames says quietly. "From there, you'll have to find your own way." He looks over his shoulder, and Ariadne nods.

Arthur sits at his desk across from Eames', hands facing palms down on the cool metal desk in front of him, his feet planted flat on the floor, back straight. He's been waiting for one hour, 36 minutes and 43 seconds; 44, 45, 46...

He's taken the time to look at everything on Eames' desk, but there isn't much to note. There are several folders with printed files from the cases and reports that Arthur has already downloaded. There's a cell phone on the desk with four missed called from the same number, two new voicemails and one hundred and seven unread emails. There's an old cup of coffee, likely from this morning. Arthur can detect more than the recommended amount of cream and sugar in the cup. 

The only items that stand out are a photo— a landscape that Arthur doesn't immediately recognise. A rocky coastline overlooks clear blue waves, capped with white crests as they pummel the cliffs. Arthur scans the points available in the photo, his results return...

37.4067098, 25.3643152— the coordinates are located on an island in Greece. Objectively, it's a beautiful photo, Arthur can understand the appeal of keeping it. The other item is a poker chip, red and white with "£5" etched around the sides. Arthur reaches to pick up the chip, running his fingers across the surface. It flips easily through his fingers and he pushes it across his knuckles, watching the coin roll across the back of each finger.

"What are you doing?" The voice of Eames says from behind him. 

Arthur quickly puts the poker chip back down on the desk. "Sorry, detective." he says, turning around to face Eames. Arthur had anticipated some anger or frustration on his superior's face, but instead, he was only met with.. perhaps surprise.

"Did you write that report?" Eames asks, eyes dropping to where Arthur's hands are folded in front of him, fingers fidgeting restlessly against one another. 

"Yes, detective."

"And did you send it in already?" Eames' tone is not exactly what Arthur would classify as upset or angry, but it's flatter than usual— missing that gentle quality that Eames' voice usually carries. 

"No, detective. I thought you might want to read it yourself before I submitted it." Eames seems to consider him then, and Arthur doesn't miss the way his shoulders relax slightly, dropping just so as Eames exhales. 

"Call me Eames." The detective says at the end of his breath.

"Of course. It's just that I could sense some tension from you, I only thought addressing you formally would be more appropriate." Arthur explains, and watches Eames' mouth twitch, nearly smiling. 

"No, Arthur that's not.." Eames struggles to find what he wants to say. "Anyway, go ahead and submit that report. I don't need to read it. I trust you." He offers Arthur a warm smile, and Arthur steps out of the way so Eames can sit down at his desk. 

Arthur checks the time. 15:54PM. By Arthur's understanding, there isn't much of the work day left, but he takes his place at the desk across from Eames and waits. Silence surrounds them— the rest of the station is still noisy, the break room is filled with officers and detectives conversing loudly about a human homicide case. There are several people at their desks around them, typing away at their terminals or listening to recordings or phone calls. Even Cobb's office door is open, the sound of him on the phone with someone drifting into the room, but despite all of the noise, Arthur can only seem to focus on the thick silence that has fallen between himself and the detective. Arthur finds himself... troubled with the thought that he may have upset Eames, however— he lets the silence stretch between them. His protocols on human interaction detail that in some situations it may be wise not to press further on a subject that causes them distress. 

So Arthur waits.


End file.
